Holder for ties and the like

ABSTRACT

A holder for holding depending folds of a tie, scarf or the like in place characterized by an anchoring portion adapted to anchor the holder to button threads; a locking means carried by the anchoring portion for preventing the holder from slipping from anchoring engagement with the threads when in place; fold retaining structure connnected with the anchoring portion and including an elongate horizontal clamp bar that is connected at one end with the anchoring portion and a retaining means carried at the other side of the anchoring portion and extending forwardly toward the free end of the horizontal clamp bar for retaining the folds in place. Also disclosed are specific embodiments including use of respective slots in the anchoring portion and in the locking means, the slot serving as a locking means having a vertically extending portion for accommodating vertical movement of the holder and its tie without slipping from engagement with the threads and without causing discomfort to the wearer.

nite States Patent [191 Casstevens, Jr. et al.

[451 Feb. 26,1974

I HOLDER FOR TIES AND THE LIKE [73] Assignee: F & W Products, Inc., Fort Worth,

Tex.

[22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 325,242

[52] US. Cl 24/60, 2/145, 24/49 CF,

24/230.5 TP, 24/238 [51] Int. Cl. A4ld 25/04, A44b 13/00 [58] Field of Search 24/90.5, 55, 56, 49-52,

24/54, 65, 57-63, 230.5 TP, 158 P, 238; 2/145, 150-154 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D93,028 8/1934 Manaster 24/49 CF UX 677,224 8/1952 Great Britain 24/238 Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin' Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wofford, Felsman & Fails 57 ABSTRACT A holder for holding depending folds of a tie, scarf or the like in place characterized by an anchoring portion adapted to anchor the holder to button threads; a locking means carried by the anchoring portion for preventing the holder from slipping from anchoring engagement with the threads when in place; fold retaining structure connnected with the anchoring portion and including an elongate horizontal clamp bar that is connected at one end with the anchoring portion and a retaining means carried at the other side of the anchoring portion and extending forwardly toward the free end of the horizontal clamp bar for retaining the folds in place. Also disclosed are specific embodiments including use of respective slots in the anchoring portion and in the locking means, the slot serving as a locking means having a vertically extending portion for accommodating vertical movement of the holder and its tie without slipping from engagement with the threads and without causing discomfort to the wearer.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures HOLDER FOR TIES AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I riety of clasps for ties, scarfs and the like; including a stick pin type, a clamp-on type, and combination types, such as a base portion that clamps onto the shirt of the wearer with a depending chain portion for encompassing the front of the tie, the chain portion frequently having an ornament of some sort. As the styles change and ties become wide or thin, these prior art holders frequently become visibly outmoded, or they were susceptible to being lost. It is desirable that a holder be provided that will hold the tie or scarf in place without being visible from the front such that its lateral dimensions need not change as do lateral dimensions of ties or the like. The most pertinent art of which we are aware with regard to this type of holder is US. Pat. No. 3,400,434. None of the prior art type holders were totally satisfactory in that they either clamped directly onto the tie without accommodating vertical movement of the tie as the wearer moved his head forwardly or rearwardly, or they slipped from engagement with the button threads as the holder and the tie were moved vertically so as to become completely disengaged and swing freely. Once swinging freely, the holder was likely to become lost from the tie, as were earlier holders.

Thus, insofar as weare aware, the prior art has not provided a totally satisfactory holder that alleviated the problems discussed hereinbefore.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a tie holder that alleviates all of the problems with the prior art delineated hereinbefore.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a'holder for a tie and the like that engages the depending folds thereof without being visible from the front; that accommodates vertical movement of the tie with respect to a thread holding a button on the front of a garment of the wearer; and that does not become disengaged from the threads even with such vertical movement of the holder and the tie.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following descriptive matter, particularly when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view from the front showing a holder of this invention employed to hold the depending folds of a mans four-in-hand tie.

FIG. 2 is a similar perspective view showing the holder of this invention reversed and holding the depending folds of a ladies four-in-hand tie.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the holder of FIGS. 1 and 2. I

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top view in cross section of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG.-6 is a partial front elevational view of another embodiment of the holder showing a locking means in the anchoring portion.

FIG. 7 is a partial isometric view of still another embodiment of the holder showing a locking means in the anchoring portion.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a holder 11 is anchored to the thread holding a button on the front of a garment 13 of the wearer 15 and holding in place the depending folds of the tie 17. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the holder 11 is employed to hold the depending folds of a four-inhand tie adjacent the button on the front of a shirt of a man. In FIG. 2, on the other hand, the holder 11 is inserted oppositely on the button of a ladies blouse to retain the ladies tie or scarf 17 in place. The holder 11, FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises the elements of an anchoring portion 19; a locking means 21 for preventing disengagement from the threads if the holder is moved upwardly or downwardly; and a fold retaining structure 23 for retaining the folds of the tie or the like in place. The anchoring portion 19 is adapted to anchor the holder 11 to the thread 25, FIG. 5, holding a button 28 to the front of the garment 13. As illustrated, the anchoring portion 19 comprises -a fiat base 27, FIGS. 3 and 4, containing a first slot 29 for slidingly receiving and disengaging from the thread 25. The flat base 27 defines a substantially planar expanse that is easily stamped and that can be readily slipped intermediate a button 28 and the front of the garment 13 to anchor the holder 11 to the threads holding a button in place.

The locking means 21 is carried by the anchoring portion for preventing the holder from slipping from anchoring engagement with a thread 25 when emplaced thereon and connected with the tie. For example, as the wearer moves his or her head backwardly or forwardly, the tie, scarf or the like, tends to move upwardly and downwardly responsive to movement of the neck. If the holder '11 is connected with the folds ofthe tie; it, too, tends to move upwardly and downwardly. In the embodiments available heretofore, upward movement of the holder 11 would disengage it from the threads so that it swung freely with the tie. The locking means 21 prevents such disengagement, and thereby lessens the likelihood that the holder will be lost. As illustrated, the locking means comprises a second slot 31 that is connected with the first slot 29. The second slot 31 has a portion that extends upwardly and downwardly to accommodate vertical movement of the holder and the tie without slipping from the thread 25, FIG. 5. As illustrated, the second slot 31 includes a vertical portion 33 that extends substantially perpendicular to a clamp bar 35 and has closed upper and lower ends 37 and 39. The second slot 31 also includes a lateral portion 41 that connects with the vertical portion 33 intermediate its upper and lower ends 37 and 39 and v also connects with the first slot 29. As can be seen, the combination of slots merge smoothly with each other to facilitate slipping of the anchoring portion 19 over the threads intermediate the button 28 and the garment 13. Once the threads have been emplaced in the vertical portion 33, the holder may move upwardly or downwardly without the threads slipping out of the first slot 29.

The fold retaining structure 23 comprises an elongate horizontal clamp bar 35 that has one end connected via a connecting means 43 with a first side 45 of the base 27 of the anchoring portion 19. The clamp bar 35 extends transversely across the anchoring portion 19 to at least the other side thereof. The clamp bar 35 has a slim pin portion 47 that defines an unconnected end that is adapted to slide into receiving relationship with a rear fold of the tie. The pin portion 47 is adapted to slip via a small aperture into holding relationship with a rear of a front fold of the tie so as to hold the tie in place without being visible from the front. If desired, the pin portion 47 may be even smaller in cross sectional dimensions than illustrated and have its unconnected end 53 more pointed for penetrating directly through the cloth of the rear of a front fold of the tie without making an appreciable aperture. Ordinarily, however, the ties will have in the rear of the front fold small openings, or apertures, in between sewed down portions such that the illustrated pin portion 47 is adequate for insertion into the small apertures to retain the front fold in place without the holder 11 being visible from the front of the tie.

The fold retaining structure 23 also includes a retaining means 19 carried at the second side 51 of the anchoring portion 17 and extending forwardly for retaining the folds in engagement with the clamp bar 35 of the holder 11 once emplaced into engagement therewith. As illustrated, the retaining means 49 comprises a protrusion that is bent to prevent snagging the tie and that is connected with the anchoring portion at the first side 51. The bent protrusion extends forwardly to almost engage the unconnected end 53 of the pin portion 47 of the clamp bar 35. Because of the inherent rigidity of the connecting means 45, the pin portion 47 tends to retain its position with its unconnected end 53 adjacent the protruding retaining means 49 so as to hold in place any folds that are moved therebetween.

It is noteworthy that the holder 11 may be inserted from above the threads intermediate the button 28 and the garment 13, as illustrated in FIG. 1, with the clamp bar 35 extending to the right; or it may be inserted from below, as illustrated in FIG. 2, with the clamp bar 35 extending to the left; the directions being given as viewed from the front. In either case, the vertical portion 33 accommodates vertical movement with respect to the button 28 of the holder 11 after it is in engagement with the depending folds of the tie 17 without slipping from engagement with the threads of the button 28. Expressed otherwise, the threads 25 tend to move upwardly and downwardly in the longitudinal portion 33 and does not tend to move laterally into the lateral portion 41 such that it would tend to move into the first slot 29 and thereafter become disengaged. In fact, considerable dexterity is required to move the threads into the lateral portion 41 for disengaging the flat base 27 of the anchoring portion from the threads 25.

In operation, the holder 11 is emplaced by sliding the thread 25 up the first slot 29, through the lateral portion 41 and into the vertical portion 33. Thereafter, the rear fold 55, FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, is slid between the pin portion 47 and the retaining means 49 to be retained in place within the anchored holder 11. Next, the pin portion 47 is slid into an aperture in the front fold 59 of the tie 17. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the pin portion 47 is slid intermediate sewed down spots disposed longitudinally of the tie, without penetrating through the material. Consequently, the pin portion 47 is disposed between a first layer 59a and a second layer 59b of the front fold without making a hole in the material. In fact, certain ties such as the Hartford Cravats are ideally suited for use with the holder 11 because of their construction features providing the relatively small aperture for insertion of the pin portion. Other ties are similarly constructed. If the pin portion 47 has a pointed end 53, it can be emplaced in any tie, regardless of whether there is an aperture disposed adjacent the location of a button 28 or not.

Thus, the tie is retained in place without the holder 11 being visible from the front. Consequently, the holder 11 is adapted to hold any tie, scarf or the like in place regardless of the width thereof and need not change as the fashions change. After the tie is removed, the holder 11 may be disengaged from the thread 25 sliding it longitudinally until the thread 25 is aligned with the lateral portion 41, then sliding the holder 11 laterally to emplace the threads in the first slot 29 from which they may be disengaged. The ultimate disengagement is effected by sliding the holder 11 upwardly in FIG. 1, and by sliding it downwardly in FIG. 2, as implied by the converse movement to the emplacement hereinbefore.

Since the holder 11 itself is not visible from the front, there is no need of ornamentation that adds to the expense and that would inhibit ready insertion of the clamp bar 35.

Other embodiments of the anchoring portion and the locking means may be employed, as well as different types of pin portions 47. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the first slot 29 may be disposed at an angle for entering the threads into the locking means 21 which comprises a Z-shaped slot 65. The Z-shaped slot 65 accommodates the vertical movement of the thread 25 but resists the lateral movement of the thread necessary to escape the first slot 29.

Still another embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 7 in which a physical means such as slide bar 67 is movable to block the first slot 29 after the holder 11 has been anchored to thread 25 of a garment l3. Specifically, after the threads are slid upwardly in first slot 29, the lock bar 67 is slid laterally of its tee support 71, as illustrated in dashed lines 69. Respective depression 73 and recess 75 are provided to retain the lock bar 67 in its position blocking the entrance to the first slot 29 until the lock bar 67 is manually slid to the left to open the first slot 29 for disengagement from the thread 25.

Other locking means can be employed as long as they accommodate the vertical movement of the holder 11 to prevent discomfort to the wearer and also prevent disengagement of the holder 11 from the thread 25 in normal wear.

As illustrated, the tie holder 11 is stamped from metallic goods so as to be economically available to the public. If desired, it could be formed from any other suitable material or by any other suitable means; for example, it could be molded; as by cast or injection molding from either metallic goods or plastic material, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS).

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arragement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is: 1. A holder for holding in place with respect to a garment front of a wearer the dependent folds of a four-inhand tie or the like, the garment from having buttons held in place by thread or the like, comprising:

a. an anchoring portion adapted to anchor said holder to said thread;

b. locking means carried by said anchoring portion for preventing said holder from slipping from anchoring engagement with said thread when emplaced and connected with said tie;

c. fold retainer structure connected with said anchoring portion and including:

i. connection means for connecting one end of an elongate clamp bar with 'a first side of said anchoring portion;

an elongate clamp bar that has one end connected via said connection means with said first side of said anchoring portion at one side and that extends transversely to at least the other side thereof and terminates in an unconnected end; said clamp bar being adapted to slide into receiving relationship with a rear fold and having a slim pin portion that is adapted to slip via a small aperture into holding relationship with a rear of a front fold; and

iii. retaining means carried at the second side of said anchoring portion and extending forwardly for retaining said folds in engagement with said holder.

2. The holder of claim 1 wherein said anchoring portion includes a first slot for slidingly receiving and disengaging from said thread.

3. The holder of claim 2 wherein said holder is reversible for slipping onto a mans shirt button thread with said clamp bar extending in one direction and for slipping onto a ladies blouse button thread with said clamp bar extending in the other direction.

4. The holder of claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a physical means for blocking the entry to said first slot of said anchoring portion; said physical means being movable to block said first slot after it is slipped over said thread.

5. The holder of claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a second slot that is connected with said first slot; said second slot extending upwardly and downwardly to accommodate vertical movement of said holder when connected with a tie or the like without slipping from said thread.

6. The holder of claim 5 wherein said second slot includes a vertical portion that extends substantially perpendicularly to said clamp bar and has closed ends; said second slot also has a lateral portion that connects with said vertical portion intermediate its closed ends and connects with said first slot for emplacing said threads in said vertical portion of said locking means.

7. The holder of claim 1 wherein said retainer means comprises a protrusion that is connected with said anchoring portion and extends forwardly from said anchoring portion toward said unconnected end of said clamp bar. 

1. A holder for holding in place with respect to a garment front of a wearer the dependent folds of a four-in-hand tie or the like, the garment front having buttons held in place by thread or the like, comprising: a. an anchoring portion adapted to anchor said holder to said thread; b. locking means carried by said anchoring portion for preventing said holder from slipping from anchoring engagement with said thread when emplaced and connected with said tie; c. fold retainer structure connected with said anchorinG portion and including: i. connection means for connecting one end of an elongate clamp bar with a first side of said anchoring portion; ii. an elongate clamp bar that has one end connected via said connection means with said first side of said anchoring portion at one side and that extends transversely to at least the other side thereof and terminates in an unconnected end; said clamp bar being adapted to slide into receiving relationship with a rear fold and having a slim pin portion that is adapted to slip via a small aperture into holding relationship with a rear of a front fold; and iii. retaining means carried at the second side of said anchoring portion and extending forwardly for retaining said folds in engagement with said holder.
 2. The holder of claim 1 wherein said anchoring portion includes a first slot for slidingly receiving and disengaging from said thread.
 3. The holder of claim 2 wherein said holder is reversible for slipping onto a man''s shirt button thread with said clamp bar extending in one direction and for slipping onto a ladies'' blouse button thread with said clamp bar extending in the other direction.
 4. The holder of claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a physical means for blocking the entry to said first slot of said anchoring portion; said physical means being movable to block said first slot after it is slipped over said thread.
 5. The holder of claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a second slot that is connected with said first slot; said second slot extending upwardly and downwardly to accommodate vertical movement of said holder when connected with a tie or the like without slipping from said thread.
 6. The holder of claim 5 wherein said second slot includes a vertical portion that extends substantially perpendicularly to said clamp bar and has closed ends; said second slot also has a lateral portion that connects with said vertical portion intermediate its closed ends and connects with said first slot for emplacing said threads in said vertical portion of said locking means.
 7. The holder of claim 1 wherein said retainer means comprises a protrusion that is connected with said anchoring portion and extends forwardly from said anchoring portion toward said unconnected end of said clamp bar. 